Posted - 05/10/2007 : 11:19:32 AM Need some help on my first sock. I'm a true southpaw, knitting from my right needle to my left. I'm up to the turning heel portion of the sock. The directions say: row 1 K17 stitches, k2tog, k1, turn. Row 2 has me Sl 1, p5, ssp,p1,turn. My question is what direction are the slants going? I think they want me to have them slanted outward. If so, do I do the ssp where the k2tog go and then knit the 2 tog where the pps is to reverse the slant? I've done well with the ribbing and heel flap, and I love using 2 circular needles. Will wait for an answer before going further. Thanks girlfriends.Babr in AZ

5 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First)

Cheerleader9

Posted - 05/10/2007 : 4:32:55 PM I decided while waiting for your reply to follow the pattern as written. Eureka! It works! I had no concept of what a heel turning was or what it's purpose was. Now I can see what it is. Thank goodness and you. Socks are not high on the list to knit here in AZ! I love to do something different and socks and lace were the two things I wanted to learn. Onward to the gusset:-)Thank you so much.Barb

sarakate

Posted - 05/10/2007 : 3:42:16 PM If your k2tog leans left, and your SSP leans right, then I think you're good to just follow the pattern as written. Both decreases are leaning toward the center of the heel, and that's just what you want.

Cheerleader9

Posted - 05/10/2007 : 2:49:48 PM Sarakate, my knit 2 tog leans to the left (inside) and my ssp slants to the right(inside). What am I doing? Continue as the pattern says or try and reverse the knit and purl stitches? Boy, there are days when I wish I was right handed!!! I usually do pretty good at working in a right handed world and I know once I do this first sock I'll understand how I did it, but until then I'm up a creek without a paddleHope I'm not completely blaffling you[:00]Barb in AZ

Cheerleader9

Posted - 05/10/2007 : 1:36:59 PM DUH! You've made me put my thinking cap on! I'm going to try it both ways and hopefully see what happens. Since this is my first try at a sock I'm not sure what the outcome of these two steps lead to nor the purpose. The picture in the book I'm using is in black and white not showing details. I believe I'm most likely a mirrored knitter. I'll get back on this after I try. Thanks for the great clarification.Barb

sarakate

Posted - 05/10/2007 : 11:50:41 AM Are you a completely mirrored knitter, in that your stitches sit on the needle with their left legs in front, as well as your fabric being worked from the left edge to the right edge? And if that's the case, then your k2tog leans to the left, with the stitch that was further to the right ending up on top? If this is the case, then I don't think you need to reverse anything.

In the pattern, which assumes an unmirrored knitter, they want you to work across the heel from right to left, slightly past the midpoint, and then do a k2tog, which would lean right, toward the center of the heel. In your knitting, assuming the assumptions above are true, you will be working across from left to right, slightly past the midpoint, and then doing a k2tog, which will leant left, again toward the center of the heel. It's exactly the same, because the difference in direction and the difference in slant cancel each other out. It should be the same for the SSP.